Smarter Investor

'Unadjusted' BLS Data Shows 1,431,000 Private Sector Jobs Lost From June To November 2012 [View article]

It is unfortunate that so many who choose to criticize, don't bother actually reading what they complain about. For example, the first sentence has a hyperlink embedded in it. If you had bothered to click on it, you would have arrived at the source material.

The second sentence is known to be true by everyone with any experience in the markets, and needs no citation. The only people who need to be invested at all times are managers of funds that track an index, and the unfortunately unsophisticated folks who buy shares of such funds.

The third sentence is not about market timing or technical analysis at all. Long term investors generally do not engage in attempts to "time" the market timing using technical analysis. The sentence describes an investing style known as "value investing". You keep liquid until you see a great value, based on fundamentals, not technical analysis.

Fundamentals, in the context of heavily manipulated markets, includes consideration of additional factors, beyond the simple virtues of a particular stock or commodity. The fundamentals include careful consideration of the probable actions of the Fed, Congress, etc. If everything checks out, you hop in, and you stay in for a few years. An example was March 2009.

Eventually, however, if and when the macro situation is clearly crumbling, you sell and stay out for an extended period of time. An example is now...